Kindness - The quality of being friendly, generous, or considerate.
Now, this is a quality of converted Christians and it is commanded. All of the fruits listed in Galatians are commanded to us.......which means they do not come natural due to our sin nature, but we have to work at them. Working at them is a delight to those who love the Lord and let the Holy Spirit work in their life. Again, the attribute of kindness is a way we can spot a Christian.
Being kind to people is something I was taught by my mother from little on up. She always told my brother and I to be kind to all, even if they are mean to you. She said this to us so much we carried it with us to adulthood. We know that this is a choice and every situation requires an action to be kind. We all know people who aren't kind and if we were honest, most of us aren't kind all the time. We are still selfish now and then and don't want to be kind......so we have to work at it.
I am a big fan of Little House on the Prairie. Most of us know who Nellie Olsen is from the show. She was mean and nasty.....especially to Laura. Her mother wasn't much better, but Nellie was worse than her mother. She would talk nasty to Laura and Mary, set them up for failure and get them in trouble. She knew how to play her mother and make it seem like all the kids were rude to her, but she was the culprit. In all this, Laura wasn't fooled by her and sometimes retaliated to Nellie's antics, but mostly she was kind to Nellie despite her nasty nature......and as they grew up on the show, they sort of became friends as they got older. Laura was taught by her parents that kindness will prevail. This didn't feel good at the time, but she had respect for her parents and for the most part listened to their wisdom in dealing with difficult Nellie.
Why is it we are commanded to be kind? I believe it's because our Savior is kind.....kind to all who call on Him and kind to those who reject Him. Just think about when Jesus was arrested and beaten and later crucified. How did he react to the people doing those things to Him? He prayed for them and told the Father to forgive them for the didn't know what they are doing. Those beating Him wanted him dead and hated Him. Jesus could have taken care of those hurting him with one hand, but He didn't. He still had compassion for them. Why would a Savior be kind to those who want nothing to do with Him? Well, because He's God and can do what He sees fit with everyone and for anyone He chooses. This is where we get our example of how to live a godly life. When we can be kind to those who have hurt us, then we are living as this passage commands us to. Reading and studying His Word is how we know we are to act and love others. Jesus loved people and showed kindness to them whenever He could.....we need to do the same, if we call ourselves Christians. We are told to hide God's Word in our heart. When we know what the Word says, we can make choices that honor God. Like being kind to others, even if they aren't kind to us. By living this way, people will know just how close we are to our God and we delight in pleasing Him above our self. Being kind will become part of our character......part of our godly lifestyle. Remember that. :)
Good post.
ReplyDeleteKindness is like ( loving others as you love yourself ), at least to me.
If the world would live in kindness it would be such a nice place.
As recent events are shaping things in this country and having an impact on my job. I am having trouble being kind, and pretty much all the things on the list to those causing the issues.
Today I talked to one of our church family members about things. I told him, I prayed for the one of the persons that I think had a big part in the Dallas policemen getting killed. I watched a video of this person breaking the law and showing their true colors. It was very hard to pray for them, but I did it. More importantly I meant it. I still have to work on the forgiveness, kindness, loving and the rest of the things on the list, but it progress for me.
To those in the world of hurt and sin. I pray that God heals all those that need healed. That he comforts all those that need comforted and most importantly that he touches all those that need touched by the Holy Spirit.
Praying for someone you would rather not pray for and mean it is what Jesus is talking about. Life is not fair. This life is ugly and messy, yet there is always one positive thing we can find in a days time to help us along. When trouble hits your heart......look to God......look to your wife......look to your kids and granddaughter......these gifts God has given you are a positive and wonderful gifts. Look at those things in spite of difficulty and know our God has your back.
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